Man Allegedly Drove 80 Miles To Kidnap An Amish Woman — And Now DHS Says He’s In The Country Illegally

Split image showing a dark gray pickup truck on a leaf-covered rural road at left, and an Amish woman using a weed whacker beside a green field at right — ICE has placed a hold on the New Jersey man accused of trying to kidnap an Amish woman in Sadsbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Left: the suspect’s truck on trail camera. Right: file photo, not the woman involved. Images: Parkesburg Borough Police Department; joelsp/flickr

Federal immigration officials have placed a hold on the New Jersey man accused of trying to kidnap an Amish woman in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania earlier this month. And the Department of Homeland Security says he is in the country illegally.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on Junior Davila-Moran, 26, of Hamilton Township, New Jersey on October 19, according to WGAL. Davila-Moran is suspected in the attempted kidnapping of a 23-year-old Amish woman, who used a weed whacker to scare her assailant off.

On Wednesday, October 14, the unnamed Amish woman was weed whacking near her driveway on Creek Road in Lancaster County’s Sadsbury Township when a man tapped her on the shoulder, showed her a knife and handcuffs, and demanded she let him handcuff her.

She revved the weed whacker, stepped toward him and screamed; he then ran off behind a building on the property. Trail camera footage from neighbors and license plate reader searches later led police to a pickup registered to Davila-Moran’s father. Davila-Moran was arrested at his New Jersey home two days later.

The location of his home suggests he had traveled over 80 miles to make the kidnapping attempt. This struck me as odd on its face; the fact that he may have been in the country illegally for as many as eight-plus years just adds another layer to it.

Abc27 has run a video report featuring some imagery of the area where the attempted kidnapping took place; it is described as a “secluded area” of the county, which may have been what drew the suspect to it. You can see for yourself in this image, and further imagery in the video embedded at bottom:

ICE has placed a hold on the New Jersey man accused of trying to kidnap an Amish woman along Creek Road in Sadsbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Image: abc27/YouTube

Here’s more from WGAL:

DHS said Davila-Moran is a Guatemalan national who is unlawfully present in the United States. The department said U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered him in Donna, Texas, in January 2018 after he entered the country unlawfully.

Davila-Moran was transferred to the custody of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement because he was a juvenile at the time, according to DHS.

Neither WGAL nor other reports say what happened after that transfer.

Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams and County Commissioner Josh Parsons spoke about the case with abc27:

“Once he’s extradited back to Lancaster County by our office, then either ICE or my detective will serve the detainer once he’s in Lancaster County Prison,” Adams said.

“Stranger kidnappings are very rare but terrifying for the victim and community,” County Commissioner Josh Parsons said.

“It’s very frustrating; this is someone that had been in custody and should have been removed from the country,” Parsons, an outspoken supporter of ICE, said.

Adams also said of the woman, “I think she was very fortunate that she had what ended up being a little bit of a weapon for her to scare the person away.” Davila-Moran faces two felony attempted kidnapping charges and six misdemeanors, including attempted false imprisonment, simple assault and terroristic threats.

According to abc27, the District Attorney’s office will prosecute him in Lancaster County Court, and if convicted, he will serve his sentence in Pennsylvania before being deported. No date has been reported for his extradition or a preliminary hearing.